Our first cruise ever, to Alaska (May 2019) - updated through Day 6

BRIEF LIFE UPDATE

I'm running behind on the next installment, because my youngest son has pneumonia. He's finally on the mend, but it's been a tough time. On his third antibiotic and has lost 7 pounds and now the poor guy has spots (a rash) from the antibiotic. So sad, but I am also so thankful he's getting better. :flower:

I hope to have the next day posted by tomorrow.
I hope he feels better.
 
Hi, I was on your cruise! Same dining rotation too we just had early seating because my two boys are 3 and 7. Enjoying following along with your TR, it makes me want to take this cruise again when mine are teenagers, assuming the glaciers are still around.
How fun! I liked our dining rotation very much. We hope to get back to Alaska someday again, too. I think it would be great to do the 9 night cruise that has some additional ports.

Thanks so much for posting this! Doing this cruise in September and have been trying to get up to speed with everything!
You will love it! I’m excited for you.

Haha, that first pictures with the dogs is so funny - I didn't realize there were two until I saw the little legs sticking out of the bigger dog. :D
I know! It was so cute. Quite the protective mama, apparently. The puppy was pretty squished in there but didn’t mind.
 
We got back on the road and drove for maybe 10 or 15 minutes, until we spotted the Yukon sign, an obligatory photo stop.
420044

420033

Bove Island
420031

We reached Carcross at about 2:30pm. The town was originally called "Caribou Crossing" because of the large groups of woodland caribou that migrated through the area. Carcross Commons includes many small shops in buildings which have murals designed by Tlingit artists painted on their exteriors. There are also several totem poles that were carved onsite by a First Nations carving master.
420049

420050

We ate lunch at a restaurant called The Bistro.
420034

420043

Kevin always jumps at elk if it’s on the menu, so he chose an Elk Smokie (smokies are similar to hot dogs; this one also had onions which Kevin says added a lot of flavor).
420035

Benji ordered the Chicken Caesar Salad.
420037

Sam, Jeff and I each had the Bonanza Beef Burger (a hamburger and fries; in the foreground of the photo of Kevin). Everything was delicious! It all might sound like simple fare, but the food was well-prepared and fresh and we were very pleased with our meal.

We stopped by the Caribou Crossing Coffee Shop, partly because it reminded me of my favorite coffee shop at home, Caribou Coffee. It was a cute place that had some nice little gift items for purchase as well. I think I picked up a couple postcards and a Yukon Territory sticker.
420038
 
Last edited:


We got back in the car and drove to our next stop, Carcross Desert, which is known as "the smallest desert in the world." It actually is not a true desert, but is instead a series of sand dunes. They were left behind from a large glacial lake that dried up.
420075

Our sons had a blast running around the "desert." It was one of the best parts of the day for them.
420077

420078

Emerald Lake (the photograph here unfortunately doesn't adequately capture the brilliant blue-green color)
420080

I caught Benji facing the "wrong way" and snapping pictures, while I was gazing at Emerald Lake. But he was right to take notice. This is what caught his attention. The whole day was just amazing.
420084

Of course we stopped at the exciting Alaska sign for photos.
420097

When we re-entered the United States, the friendly Customs and Border Patrol agent teased us about how hard it must be to be Minnesota Vikings fans sometimes (Jeff was wearing his Vikings hat). As much fun as we had been having, it was nice to get back into Alaska and closer to our ship.
420082

After we returned the Jeep, the boys wanted to go right back to the ship, so we gave them instructions to text us when they got there. It was a bit of a walk, and I wanted to make 100% sure there was no chance of them getting lost or something else going wrong before the ship had to depart.

Jeff and I explored Skagway for a little while. One thing that was unfortunate was that some places close early, so weren’t possible to do at that point. The Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park Visitor Center and the Skagway Museum and Archives had both looked interesting earlier but closed at 5pm. We had prioritized getting on the road early to try to avoid following any large buses of people, so I guess this was the trade-off.
420085

420086

This is "Arctic Brotherhood Camp No. 1," which was built in 1899 as a fraternal order but today is home to the Skagway Visitors Bureau. It is well-photographed because of its unique façade, which is covered with over 8000 pieces of driftwood. We stopped inside to use the restroom and ask a couple of questions.
420087
 
Last edited:
We walked back to the ship, which we had really been missing. Hello, beautiful Disney Wonder!
420393

420382

Looking back out at Skagway
420384

We certainly enjoyed our day off the ship. For anyone interested, I tallied our expenses for our activities and it was $577 USD total (specifically: Jeep rental $303, Dogsledding $176, lunch at The Bistro $67, gas for the Jeep $31). We felt this was an excellent, budget-friendly way to spend our day. I had originally planned to do an excursion through Chilkoot Charters and Tours called "Yukon Rail and Bus Excursion with Dogcart Experience," which would have been $1175 for our group ($235 per person). I’m sure we would have enjoyed that tour, too, but we are happy with our decision. It was perfect for us.

The movie “Disneynature: Penguins” was showing in the Walt Disney Theatre at 5:45pm, but we skipped that. It would be nice to see it at home later, we thought, but didn’t want to use cruise time for it. The twins hung out in Vibe, where Benji participated in Marshmallow Olympics. The rest of us played The Wheel in the Promenade Lounge. Sam then made his first visit to Vibe to check out an activity called Hero Vision Iron Man Experience, but left early because he decided it wasn’t for him. He joined Jeff and me for “Folk Music with John Charles” in Azure.
420383
We honestly aren’t passionate folk music fans and had a hard time coming up with any song we would like to request, but John Charles put on a fun show and we enjoyed ourselves very much.

Dinner was in Animator’s Palate. Before the cruise, this was the restaurant I was most excited to see. Our son Kevin (not pictured here) is a talented artist and his goal is to be a Disney animator, so I knew it would be especially perfect for him.
420387

I love all the details of this restaurant, including the paint bucket table number (above) and the famous paintbrush butter knife.
420390

420391

Benji won multiple sunglasses in Vibe. He brought this pair, earned at the Marshmallow Olympics, to dinner.
420392


Over the course of the evening we saw the room change from black and white to full color. Simple sketches appeared in the frames on the walls, followed by details and color and backgrounds and finally full animation. The waitstaff were dressed in black and white, and I had thought I’d heard that their clothes would even change to being in full color by the end of the meal. They did not, despite all the servers being out of the dining room for an extended period before the finale. (Maybe something went wrong, or maybe I’ve misunderstood and my expectations were incorrect?)

Unfortunately, the service that evening was off. Our serving team seemed very rushed and several things went wrong. For example, one of the two entrees Jeff ordered never came. My steak was undercooked (rare not medium), but in a departure from the usually excellent and attentive service, they weren’t around our table for an extended period of time, so we didn’t have an opportunity to tell them. We still had a great time and focused on enjoying the food we did have, because we wanted to get seats for the PremEAR of Aladdin at 10:15pm. Prolonging dinner further could make that difficult. (Of course I did not mention any problem in the survey at the end, because normally they took great care of us, and we really did appreciate them throughout the cruise. It was our responsibility to tell them of the trouble with the food, and they surely would have made it right if told.)

I took photos of the menus, but unfortunately they are blurry due to the low lighting in the restaurant.

We loved the Bread Service, a Garlic and Herb Focaccia. For appetizers, Sam and I started with the Black Truffle Pasta Purseittes (Pasta Purse Filled with Truffle-scented Cheese and coated with a delicate Champagne Sauce).
420394

Next I had the Creamy Butternut Squash Soup (Garnished with Chives and drizzled with Sour Cream).
420396
 
Last edited:
420403

I tried two entrees on this evening. First, the Pennette Bolognese (Pennette Pasta mixed with a rich Bolognese Sauce, garnished with shaved Parmesan-Reggiano and Toasted Garlic Ciabatta):
420404

My other entrée was the Ginger-Teriyaki dusted Angus Beef Tenderloin (served with Wasabi Mashed Potatoes, Bok Choy, and a Tamarind-Barbecue Reduction).
420406

As I’d mentioned, time was tight because of the Aladdin PremEAR, so we decided to be responsible and skip dessert.
420407

...What? No way! We're on vacation. Of course we did NOT skip dessert. The boys were happy to go ahead and save seats, so they left early (I know that’s officially wrong; sorry) so we could stay and eat dessert.

So, back to Animator's Palate...
420410

420411

Jeff chose the Chocolate Fudge Cheesecake. I ordered the Cookies ‘n’ Cream Sundae (Cookies & Cream Ice Cream with Chocolate Sauce and Chocolate Chip Cookies). Mine was yummy! Sadly, Jeff reported that he found his disappointing.
420408

Right after dinner, we hurried to Walt Disney Theatre, where we found the boys seated and waiting for us. Our family all loved Aladdin, but I’ll confess that unfortunately I’m not great at staying awake if I try to watch movies that late, so I missed some of it. Sam declared it was the best of Disney’s live action movies (that are remakes of classic animation films). I definitely agreed! We did observe one strange thing as we exited the theatre when the movie was finished: there were no cast members anywhere. It felt strange because it was always so lively and cheerful seeing their friendly faces after the shows. This movie began a couple hours later than the regular evening show would have begun, so we realized it made sense. They take such good care of everyone, and certainly deserve a good night’s sleep to do it!

Back in our room, we found this fun guy, our Navigators, and chocolates.
420409
 
Last edited:


I loved your home-made itinerary for Skagway! I'm trying to convince my mom to do a similar thing, but I know she's anxious about doing anything not through DCL and being abandoned when the ship leaves... I've tried to reassure her, but no dice so far! Maybe your photos will help!
 
Thanks fo sharing your experience in Alaska. Looks like a beautiful experience.

We are a family of 5 too, 3 sons too. We are hoping to cruise to Alaska in the near future. But in the meantime we are finally doing another family cruise this January out of Miami. DH and I have been cruising solo recently. Our sons,are now 25, 22 and 20, so it’s hard to get everyone together.

Looking forward to hearing more about your cruise.
 
I'm having fun ready your report! We were actually on this same cruise and seated next to your family in some of the dining rooms!
 
This is a really fun report (thinking of this cruise next year). Hope your younger son gets well soon--pneumonia is the worst!

P.S., saw something in your opening post that made me chuckle from shared experience. We too showed up to muster drill as soon as the original announcement sounded. We come to find out after our cruise that they make that announcement 45 minutes before the muster drill is actually due to start because they know most people are stragglers. Next time we waited to go down until 20 minutes "late" and still waited a half hour, so I guess that is true. You live, you learn.
 
Loving your TR. I've sailed DCL all over including Europe and I have a TA booked for 2020 but we haven't done Alaska yet. I keep saying that I'll do a different line so that we can sail Glacier Bay, but you're making me want to go with DCL just because I love the experience so much.
 
I loved your home-made itinerary for Skagway! I'm trying to convince my mom to do a similar thing, but I know she's anxious about doing anything not through DCL and being abandoned when the ship leaves... I've tried to reassure her, but no dice so far! Maybe your photos will help!
Oh, good luck deciding! I completely understand. There really is lots of time ashore on Skagway day, though, so it was easy to be back, with time to spare. My son really was so worried the day before, as I said, but it was a breeze. That said, there are many good options for DCL excursions there, apparently, if the peace of mind they provide is very important to your mom.

Thanks fo sharing your experience in Alaska. Looks like a beautiful experience.

We are a family of 5 too, 3 sons too. We are hoping to cruise to Alaska in the near future. But in the meantime we are finally doing another family cruise this January out of Miami. DH and I have been cruising solo recently. Our sons,are now 25, 22 and 20, so it’s hard to get everyone together.

Looking forward to hearing more about your cruise.
Thanks for reading! How great that you are doing a cruise with your whole family soon! I have my eye on Marvel cruises out of Miami, hopefully in January 2021. Can I ask - where is your cruise going, and is it a regular or a themed cruise?

I'm having fun ready your report! We were actually on this same cruise and seated next to your family in some of the dining rooms!
Oh, wow! What a small world! That is fantastic. I loved our dining each night. Did you have a favorite dining room?

This is a really fun report (thinking of this cruise next year). Hope your younger son gets well soon--pneumonia is the worst!

P.S., saw something in your opening post that made me chuckle from shared experience. We too showed up to muster drill as soon as the original announcement sounded. We come to find out after our cruise that they make that announcement 45 minutes before the muster drill is actually due to start because they know most people are stragglers. Next time we waited to go down until 20 minutes "late" and still waited a half hour, so I guess that is true. You live, you learn.
Oh, you should definitely go to Alaska! You won't regret it.

Thank you for the well-wishes! My son who I mentioned before (Benji) is getting better, but now his twin brother has pneumonia. And for added drama, their older brother is now sick also! X-rays don't show pneumonia at the moment, but the symptoms are sadly similar to his brothers' early symptoms.

Loving your TR. I've sailed DCL all over including Europe and I have a TA booked for 2020 but we haven't done Alaska yet. I keep saying that I'll do a different line so that we can sail Glacier Bay, but you're making me want to go with DCL just because I love the experience so much.
How wonderful to have sailed to many places! Do you have a favorite itinerary? Trans-Atlantic cruises looks exciting partly because of their length and that I am sure I'd enjoy the sailing on the Magic (because we loved the size of the Wonder), but can I ask if you experience rough seas (if you've done one before, or another on the open ocean for several days)? It seems like it would be more of an issue? Glacier Bay looks amazing! I worry that I've been spoiled by Disney now and really can't imagine sailing on another line. So, I'll try not to think about other Alaska options for now. :)
 
Day 5 (May 24, 2019) - Juneau

Because we were up late the night before for Aladdin, most of the family slept in. I got up at my usual time and headed to the laundry room to start a few loads, so that it would be done before we needed to start our fun day in the city of Juneau. I was happy to find three machines available, so bought laundry credits at the machine using my Key To The World card and started loading clothes into the washers. I encountered an unexpected problem, though: I could not find a fully “cold” cycle available as an option on the washing machines. I generally wash almost everything on cold (except towels) and know many things we own are labeled “cold wash only.” I asked someone at Guest Services and was told that there is no entirely cold cycle option, even through the full-service Laundry Services. I think this is so odd. As I write this, I feel a little skeptical of myself because it’s strange, but I was so thorough in checking it out that day. In the descriptions (I believe it was on the inside of the door) there was always at least a portion of the wash cycle that was “warm” or “hot.” Nothing simply “cold.”

Anyway, as I was walking back to the room one of the times that morning I observed the hidden Mickeys on the stateroom hosts' carts. So cute.
422915

We ate breakfast outside at Cabanas.
422916

It was a short walk from the ship to Juneau Car Rental, where a Chevrolet Uplander minivan awaited us. Look at how close it was!
422917

The total cost for our rental was $126.50. We drove toward Mendenhall Glacier, stopping on the way at a Starbucks (located in a Fred Meyer store) with the goal of buying a “been there” mug. They were out of stock, but I picked up a coffee and some bottled waters for the day out. The day before, I had purchased a Disney Cruise Line insulated bag that came with 6 waters and ice. It had been handy for our drive. I also brought along some pastries from breakfast (stored in Ziplock bags), for each of us to have one for a snack while on the road. Today’s drive would be a much shorter one, but it was nice to have in case.

Upon arrival at Mendenhall, I finished my coffee and we walked up to the Visitor Center. Visitors are not permitted to have beverages or food outside, because of bears. We picked up a brochure and listened to a ranger talk before embarking on our walk to the glacier. We decided to follow two of the trails, the Nugget Falls Trail (2 miles round trip) and Photo Point Trail (1/3 mile round trip).

The first one enabled us to get very close to Nugget Falls. Quickly we found ourselves with a nice view of Mendenhall Glacier.
422918

422919

On the way there, we encountered a porcupine! It was tricky to photograph well, but here it is.
422925

422920

422928

Behold the large and loud Nugget Falls! We loved being able to get so close to them.
422921

422922
 
The second trail, the well-named Photo Point Trail, gave us a beautiful view of the glacier.
422929

422931

There was a park ranger there, so we got to ask some questions about what we were seeing. She also was willing to take a family photo, which we appreciated.
422930

One last look from a viewpoint near the Visitor Center:
422932

We grabbed a few little souvenirs in the shop and watched the video in the theater before getting back on the road.

On the way back to town, we stopped at another Starbucks (located in a Safeway store). Thankfully, I found the Alaska mugs in stock. We continued back to the port area of town and found a parking space, because we wanted to have lunch at the Alaskan Crepe Escape. I had read about it online, and because we love crepes we were eager to check it out. After looking for it for some time without success, we stopped at the local tourism office and asked for directions. The women there knew of it immediately and confirmed that it was delicious but added that it had moved and was a bit of a walk. We continued to search, using their tips and still could not find it. We eventually gave up because we were so hungry. We paused at Tracy’s King Crab Shack, which is a very popular place to eat in Juneau. No one was really interested in crab, so we eventually concluded we would rather return to the Wonder and eat there.

We were back onboard shortly after 3pm, which means we spent a total of 5 hours ashore. Since lunch at Cabanas had ended (at 2pm), we got food from Pete’s Boiler Bites and Pinocchio’s Pizzeria. Sam and Jeff especially liked the shawarma at Pete’s.
422934

I grabbed a little dessert from Cove Cafe.
422935

Along the way, I spotted this...
422937

I checked out the Pixar Pals Party in the Atrium at 4:15pm. I positioned myself at the railing, looking down from a couple of floors up, which worked well to avoid the crowds and be able to show up right as it began.
422938

The twins went to Vibe. They participated in the Disney Silent DJ Party. The rest of us spent some time relaxing in the room and watching Black Panther and the pretty views passing by outside, after the ship had gotten underway again. I was really enjoying feeling it move (versus being still, while in port).

We caught the early showing of Frozen: A Musical Spectacular in the Walt Disney Theatre. We liked it, but the boys are a little overloaded with the abundant Frozen entertainment, merchandise, and presence in the parks, so for them it was not as engaging or interesting. We discussed what was better: this Frozen show or the one in California Adventure park in Anaheim. There is some overlap between them, but also some nice differences. There wasn’t a clear winner in our debate. Jeff and the twins like the Disneyland show best; Sam and I liked both shows about equally.
422939

It was Mardi Gras Night at Tiana’s Place, so colorful beads were piled upon each of our menus when we arrived. It was a festive atmosphere and we enjoyed wearing our beads. We were already excited for the dessert tonight, because we knew beignets would be on the menu.
422940
 
Last edited:
How wonderful to have sailed to many places! Do you have a favorite itinerary? Trans-Atlantic cruises looks exciting partly because of their length and that I am sure I'd enjoy the sailing on the Magic (because we loved the size of the Wonder), but can I ask if you experience rough seas (if you've done one before, or another on the open ocean for several days)? It seems like it would be more of an issue? Glacier Bay looks amazing! I worry that I've been spoiled by Disney now and really can't imagine sailing on another line. So, I'll try not to think about other Alaska options for now. :)

So far my favorite itinerary by far was Norway. We were lucky enough to book the Inaugural 9 night sailing in 2015- also on the Magic. It was absolutely gorgeous and amazing. We've sailed all four ships, concierge and non- and there isn't a cruise that's come close. We're looking forward to our TA because we haven't been to Spain yet, and we're looking for some downtime to knock around on the ship.

We've had really rough waters a couple times that I can remember, once on the Wonder where we were skirting a hurricane, the North Sea heading back to Copenhagen, and on our British Isles Cruise. The waves in the North Sea were mammoth, but I remember during the hurricane being kept up all night because the boat was rocking hard enough that the closet doors kept slamming open and closed.
 
Loving the report so far, especially seeing your Skagway adventure because you did exactly what we had originally planned to do, but we changed our minds about two weeks before the trip and picked something I thought would keep our little ones more entertained (ziplining + glassblowing). It's great to still get to see the parts that we missed out on. Emerald Lake looked beautiful.

Thanks for sharing that tidbit about the missing cold-setting on the washing machine. That's so odd! I hate the thought of doing laundry while on vacation, but we just booked a trip on the Magic for next summer that will have us gone for a while and I may have to break down and give in. But cold-setting is a must for me!!!
 
Tiana's Mardi Gras night menu:
423335

423336

The Bread Service was an Herbed Brioche, served with Roasted Onion Dip (dip not pictured).
423326

Benji and I ordered the Boudin Sausage Fritters (minced Pork and Boudin Sausage, Breaded and Fried, Served with a Bourbon Aioli) for our appetizer, but we did not like it. The meat inside was of a consistency that made it seem almost raw to us. We did not finish it.
423327

I had the Iceberg Wedge Salad (with Pepper Jack Cheese, Bacon, Tomato, Basil, and a creamy Thousand Island Dressing). Loved it.
423328

When our hostess Tiana stopped by to make sure we were enjoying our dinner, we took another photo with her, this time with the good camera (the DSLR). The photos last time we were at Tiana’s did not turn out at all, and because we just loved her, we had to try again. So glad we did!
423329
Louis moved about the restaurant, which was very cute, too. I didn't get a photo, because he moved pretty quickly.

My main course was Big Daddy’s Roasted Prime-Rib of Beef (with a double Baked Potato, Broccolini, sweet Roasted Carrots, and a Red Wine Veal Sauce). Yummy.
423330

Eudora’s Artichoke Ravioli (with Sautéed Spinach, Lemon Butter, Sage and Pecorino Cheese):
423333

The Crawfish Crooners provided solid entertainment again. What a fantastic experience it all was! We just loved the restaurant, both times.
423331

We didn't feel a need to even look at the dessert menu, because of the delectable beignets, but here it is:
423337
 
Tiana’s Buttermilk Beignets (dusted with Powdered Sugar and served with Chocolate Espresso Dipping Sauce) were as delicious as we had hoped.
423338

We found this cute bear waiting for us in our room at the end of the night. We got to bed right after dinner, because we had early plans for a character breakfast the next morning.
423339
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!







Top